“Just as Greece is making it, Cyprus will also make it,” Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Friday in Limassol, where he was attending a meeting of the European People’s Party.

Conservative leaders backed plans for a 17-billion-euro bailout for Nicosia and provided a boost for Cypriot opposition leader Nicos Anastasiades, the favorite to win parliamentary elections on February 17.

Sources said that during the meeting, which was held behind closed doors, Samaras stressed the need for the European Union to develop a plan to provide jobs for young people.